Davies: Taste of MLS Cup Loss Lingers

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – It’s safe to say that Charlie Davies did not take last month’s MLS Cup loss in stride.

Back at training on Friday for the first time since last month’s championship loss to the LA Galaxy, the 28-year-old striker admitted that it wasn’t easy to shake off the emotions stemming from the setback.

“It took me a good two weeks of being depressed,” Davies said. “It’s easy to look back at it and feel disgusted, but I think the better way is to look back, and feel a sense of happiness, and to be so proud of these guys.”

And the guys are all back, too – well, at least most of them. With the exceptions of A.J. Soares (out of contract) and Patrick Mullins (expansion draft), everyone who suited up for the Revolution in last month’s title match will be back in 2015.

Not surprisingly, many are picking the Revolution to win the Eastern Conference again. With a full season of Jermaine Jones ahead, and Lee Nguyen ready to prove that 2014 wasn’t a fluke, there are few reasons to bet against the local XI this season.

“I’m really excited to be able to work with Jermaine for the whole year,” Revolution coach Jay Heaps said, “and work with him for a couple of weeks of preseason, as well , and with him and Lee and the entire group.”

But Jones and Nguyen aren’t the only ones who’ll need to rise the challenge if the Revolution want to cast themselves as bonafide Cup contenders. After relatively quiet 2014 campaigns, Diego Fagundez and Kelyn Rowe will both attempt to channel the form that saw the former score 13 goals and the latter collect eight assists the year before.

Another player looking to bounce back this season is Andrew Farrell, who may be asked to slide from right back to center back in the wake of Soares’ departure. The experience he gained there as a fill-in last year (10 games) should help his cause.

Then, of course, is Davies. As electric as he was during the postseason (four goals in five playoff games), the Boston College alum didn’t post the kind of numbers (three goals in 18 games) he would’ve liked to have during the regular season.

But stats only tell a part of the story, at least according to Davies. To him, the best way to avoid another heart-wrenching loss on the last day of the season goes beyond the numbers listed on the back of their soccer cards.

“We just have to get back to building as a team and trying to understand how to, when games aren’t going as well as they should for us, find ways to still be impactful and get a result,” Davies said. “Obviously, we’ll have that taste (from the MLS Cup final) in our mouth for awhile, and we’ll use that as motivation for this year.”

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About Brian O'Connell

Brian O'Connell (@BrianOConnell21) serves as editor and staff writer at New England Soccer Today. He's also the Revolution beat writer for ESPNFC, and is Officer at Large for the North American Soccer Reporters. He's contributed to The Associated Press, The Canadian Press, and has been featured on MLSSoccer.com & RevsNet.com. E-mail: BOConnell21@aol.com